Submit your comments on this article |
Home Front: Culture Wars |
There's talk about bringing back the Black Oscars |
2016-02-05 |
[LA Times] They gathered at the Beverly Wilshire, the men in tuxes, the women draped in evening gowns. The finest black talent in Hollywood was there that night in 2002, Quincy Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, James Lassiter, Doug McHenry and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs among them. The "Mystic Knights of the Sea" as depicted in the pre-1943 serial version of "Amos 'n' Andy" were clearly intended as a Masonic parody. Perhaps an Oscars parady is in order. It was an annual gathering held at one posh hotel or another on the eve of the Academy Awards. Officially, it was called the Tree of Life Awards. But most people called it by its informal name: the Black Oscars. Can we bitch and moan that there aren't enough white people represented? "It was always a celebration of what accomplishments black people had done in the film industry," said actress and director Debbie Allen, who was honored by the Black Oscars and its sister event, the Black Emmys. "Sound, music, directors, actors, whatever your participation was, you were honored." The annual event was launched in 1981 at a time when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rarely recognized black achievements. By that time, only 27 African Americans had been nominated in the 52-year history of the Oscars, with only three winning. The Tree of Life Awards ended in 2007. But with the academy nominating an all-white slate of actors for the second year in a row, Gil Robertson, president of the African American Film Critics Assn., says the circumstances that prompted the Black Oscars are prevalent again. "It began as a way to fill a void in the city and in the community," he said. "People work hard and invest in their craft and were being ignored ... so the Black Oscars became a way for them to receive acknowledgment of their talents and their craft." |
Posted by:Besoeker |
#10 Well, Will Smith is not a good actor anymore, if he ever was, and NWA wasn't as cool as the grown up white suburbanites remembered. What does that leave for black actors/actresses? Admittedly, I think Fifty Shades of Black should get some recognition for simply attempting the parody, though I have not seen either film. |
Posted by: swksvolFF 2016-02-05 19:30 |
#9 :) |
Posted by: Shipman 2016-02-05 14:56 |
#8 Why not develop a black studio? Certainly there are enough black multi-millionaires to put something together. |
Posted by: rjschwarz 2016-02-05 14:55 |
#7 He, even. |
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 2016-02-05 14:13 |
#6 A valet scratched my Cadillac With whitey on the screen I bet did it cuz I'm black And whitey's on the screen I've cultivated urban tics While whitey's on the screen For half a century, no new tricks But whitey's on the screen Unlikely doc, or geek, or God With whitey on the screen My audience is deeply awed Yet whitey's on the screen I play myself so expertly But whitey's on the screen And all his roles were meant for me Not whitey on the screen Taxes takin' my living wage The haters make me ess my aitch Obama's way back in the rough And if all that crap wasn't enough The valet scratched my Cadillac With whitey on the screen And Hollywood don't got my back Cause whitey's on the screen With all that money I made last year For whitey on the screen I guess I'm still a millionaire Thanks, whitey on the screen But still, I've really had my fill Of whitey on the screen I'll send this reparations bill Western Union To whitey on the screen |
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 2016-02-05 14:12 |
#5 The same laws that would prevent a "whites only Oscars" would prevent a "blacks only Oscars". They would have to include token Asian and white nominees. Is that really what anybody wants? |
Posted by: Sven the pelter 2016-02-05 12:33 |
#4 The affirmative action Oscars? |
Posted by: Albert Ebbeamble1562 2016-02-05 12:28 |
#3 To hell with Hollywood.. Don't patronize their trash. The Oscars are just a trade show. |
Posted by: Alaska Paul 2016-02-05 10:22 |
#2 Another 'safe place'? The re-segregation of America driven by one community. Because it's really about Power not Integration. [no one has mentioned the legion of other actors, producers, writers, et al who were passed over who coulda, shoulda have been nominated even through they weren't of the aggrieved community] |
Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-02-05 08:16 |
#1 But wait! You want to be represented in the established Hollywood Oscar programme, and a separate, non-integrated 'black only' Oscar system as well ? I'm sure some accommodation can be made. Separate criteria, standards, and systems are already widely accepted. |
Posted by: Besoeker 2016-02-05 07:31 |